


Order and Law

by Basingstoke



Category: DCU
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-31
Updated: 2004-05-31
Packaged: 2017-10-02 15:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basingstoke/pseuds/Basingstoke





	Order and Law

"You were right. I was wrong," you say, and your eyes are blinded by tears.

You fall to your knees. Batman kneels beside you, a whisper of armor and leather, and rests his hand on your back. "I heard. I'm sorry."

"I was wrong," you say again.

You're not alone in the Batcave. Huntress, his shadow, is there, shifting on the stairs. You can smell the blood and perfume in her hair. She doesn't ask a question out loud, but Batman answers her: "Luthor killed his parents."

She sighs. "It's an evil little club."

Your eyes clear as the tears form and drop away: one, two. You see the rock floor of the cave, your naked hands splayed across it, and Batman's black cape layered with your red.

"Did I tell you how it began for me?" Batman asks.

You shake your head. You've never been friends, you and Batman; it's been an uneasy truce. You hated his methods--you never tried to stop him, but you fought like oil and water--and you were wrong.

"When I was eight years old, I was walking back from the movies with my parents. A mugger stepped out of the alley and demanded my father's wallet. My father gave him his wallet, and then he demanded my mother's pearls. They were an heirloom; she didn't want to give them up. So he shot my mother, and then he shot my father."

Your mother. Your father. They never hurt _anyone_\--they were the best people you knew--dead in an instant. Your fingers dig into the rock, cracking and crumbling it.

"He stared down at me and his eyes were cold as a reptile's. He took the money from my father's wallet and dropped the wallet by his body, then he started to leave, as if they were nothing. As if I was nothing. And I stopped him--I kicked him in the knee and he fell down to my level, then I took his gun and I shot him in the head."

"Justice," you say roughly.

"Justice," Huntress says.

"Justice." Batman takes your arm and you straighten up. You look him in the eye, tears streaming down your face.

He pulls back his cowl with his other hand. You'll recognize him when you have time to think about it, but in the moment all you see is that his face is kinder than you had ever imagined.

You saw him kill the Joker after Robin's death. Since then, he's been the mask to you, never the man.

He takes his gun from his holster and offers it to you. "I never wanted you to understand me--not this way," he says, "but take this and bring justice to the places the law doesn't reach."

"Thank you," you say.

You hold the gun in your hands: matte, black, sleek in design. You curl your finger into the trigger and picture Luthor's bald head over the barrel.

But this is wrong; this is Batman's way.

He uses tools. You use your abilities.

"Thank you, but I have my own weapons." You give Batman back his gun. He nods, understanding.

Luthor killed your parents from a distance. You'll look him in the eye and show him that your anger isn't hollow. You'll bring justice to his tower.

And then you'll grieve.

You fly out of the cave and a thousand bats accompany you to the surface.

THE END.

 

All comments are welcome.


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